An Odd Sort Of Wonderland
by sherlock-holmes-fangirl101
Summary: Alys Morgan, a free lance alien hunter with a concealed past. When a hunt goes awry, Alys is thrown into the weird and wonderful world of Torchwood. But how is it she has any knowledge of alien life at all? And what is it she's hiding? This is her story, this is Alys and Torchwood.
1. Chance Meetings: Re-edited

Alys Morgan came to Torchwood out of nowhere. It was as if she had dropped from the sky. She appeared in their lives without warning and vanished from them just as suddenly. This is her story. This is Alys and Torchwood.

Cardiff's back streets were dark, dank and narrow, but after running through them all night Alys was more than accustomed to the problems they posed.

Semi – automatic in one hand, UV torch in the other, Alys moved at a brisk pace, following the sound of heavy footsteps. She turned a corner and swore under her breath. It was headed for the plaza.

"Great." She muttered, "Nice, big, open space. What could possibly go wrong?"

Alys rounded a turn, but quickly doubled back, flattening herself against a wall. There was someone out there, and the thing was headed straight for him. She cursed in welsh, just her luck. Checking the barrel was full; she risked a peek round the corner. _Damn_, she thought, _it had him_.

Alys clicked the safety off the gun and ran into the centre of the square. There was a struggle between the creature and the men, and Alys knew how that would end. She lifted her right arm and took aim. The gunshot was loud and clear; it rang out across the space, reverberating in her ears.

The thing slumped against the man, clearly dead. Pleased, Alys replaced the safety and shoved the gun into her belt. She moved towards the figure, covering the space with a light jog. Unlike most, the victim did not seem phased by the attack and was already moving the corpse from his body.

"Hey." She said, "Are you alright?"

Within seconds and old-fashioned pistol was trained on her face.

"Steady on." She took a step back, hands held in the air.

"You shot it." The man stated, he was American.

"Yeah, I'm rather good like that." She lowered her hands slowly, rightly assuming she wasn't going to be shot.

"You didn't need to shoot it." The American said, "I had it under control."

"Really? Because, to me, it looked like you were being mauled." There was a long pause as the man lowered his gun, "Look, if someone's in danger I generally shoot first, ask questions later."

"How thoughtful of you." The second man commented distastefully.

She folded her arms, narrowing her eyes at him, "You know, most people would be thanking me. I did just save your life."

"No," the American shot back, "You just shot an innocent creature."

"Which was going to kill you."

"I have equipment to deter them." He glared at her.

"Well, you might want to use it then."

The man gave an exasperated sigh, "Do you know what you shot?"

She shrugged, "Yes and no. I call 'em beasties. Been tracking them down for a while."

"How long is a while?"

"A good two years." She shifted her footing.

"What's your name?" the man asked.

"Alys." She said warily.

"Well, Alys, you wanna come see some more?" he looked at her suggestively. She blinked disbelievingly, "Well?" he prompted.

Her face broke into a grin, "Well, what are you waiting for? Take me to wonderland."


	2. Down The Rabbit Hole

Chapter Two:

The American lead Alys to what he called the 'visitors entrance'; a slab of pavement that also served as a lift.

Alys gave a cry as it jolted downwards, grabbing hold of the man's arm.

"Sorry." She said, steadying herself, "I've always been a bit jumpy."

He smiled at her, "No problem. You're not the first to have that reaction." He turned to face ahead of them, "By the way, welcome to Torchwood."

Alys tore her eyes from him and glanced about at her surroundings. They were inside some sort of base, which seemed to run deep below the surface of Cardiff city, or the bay at least, judging by the size of it.

A strangled cry caused her to look up, and promptly duck back down again, covering her head.

"You okay, there?"

"Pterodactyl." She muttered, upon its departure.

"That's right." The man said as the lift came to a halt, "Come on, ride's over." He held out a hand in order to help her down.

She ignored it, "I'm very capable of walking by myself, thank you."

The corner of his mouth twitched up into a small smirk, "Well then, allow me to introduce you. This here," he gestured to a thin woman, clothed in black, on the above level, who was tapping furiously away at a computer, "is ex PC Gwen Cooper." The woman looked up at the sound of her name, an expression of confusion gracing her features. "And up top is our lovely tea boy, Ianto Jones." A tall man, with his back to them, lifted his hand in a half wave, "And I'm Captain Jack Harkness." Alys responded with a two-fingered salute.

Jack leant forward on a nearby railing, "So, thoughts?"

"Torchwood." She said slowly.

"Yup."

"Big, underground, super-secret, sci-fi base?"

"You got it."

"What is it?"

"You're in it." He replied, "Everything around you is Torchwood."

"Gee, thanks." She said, "I never would've guessed what with it being printed on the wall." She gestured in the general direction, "What I meant was, what do you do? What's it all for?"

"Aliens." He replied quickly, "We catch aliens. Not kill them, mind you, catch them."

"Speaking of aliens," Gwen said from behind her computer, "what happened to that Weevil, Jack?"

"Ask her." Jack said, "She shot it."

Gwen frowned at Alys who only shrugged in response.

Jack jogged up the stairs to join Ianto, who, at that moment, was busying himself with the coffee machine.

"What's she doing here?" the Welshman asked.

"She shot a Weevil." Jack explained, "I couldn't just let her wander the streets with a loaded gun."

"So, introducing a trigger happy stranger to the hub was _obviously_ the better alternative."

"Ianto." Jack scolded, "Not now. Just make some coffee, would you? And add a little extra kick to hers, if you know what I mean."

Ianto nodded, "Right you are, sir."

"Drop the sir." The American said, "Honestly, how many times do I have to tell you?"

Ianto smiled slightly, "Oh, at least once more, sir."

Jack gave an exaggerated sigh, jogging back down to the lower levels of the hub. "So, then," he said to Alys, "what do you want to see?"

She paused, still very much bewildered by the extent of the situation, "Um…I dunno. Anything. Everything? I don't really think it matters. I mean, it's all alien, isn't it?"

He nodded, "Mostly. Gwen, why don't you give her the grand tour?"

Gwen departed from her station to join the two others on the base level, "Leave the gun here, please." She said, her tone business-like, "Safety reasons, I'm sure you understand."

Alys raised her eyebrows but retrieved the object all the same. She placed it on the table with some reluctance, consciously ignoring the slight pang she felt, the gun was the only constant she had.

Gwen turned on her heel, the expectation being that Alys would follow, which she did, closely. "Med bay." She said pointing, "Archives that way, we log everything we come across. Jack's office is up top; Ianto and I work down here for the most part. Weapons room is just there on the right." She indicated a set of heavy looking doors, "And the cells spread down onto the lowest levels of the base."

"Cells?"

"It's where we keep the Weevils." She explained, "Other aliens too. We can't send them back to where they came from, and we can't let them loose, so they stay here."

"Where _did_ they come from?" Alys asked.

"There's this rift." She said good-naturedly, "A rift in time and space, and it runs right through the city. Things tend to get stranded here; space junk, Weevils…"

"The Pterodactyl." Alys cut in.

Gwen nodded, "Right. And we're here to monitor the rift. What it does, what it leaves behind. Make sure it's not dangerous, and, if it is, we contain it."

"Can I see?" Alys asked, a glint in her eye.

"See what?"

"Aliens. Space junk. The driftwood of the rift."

"I suppose so." The other woman said. She inclined her head to the right, "This way." She flipped open a keypad, typing in a short string of code. The heavy, metal doors of the weapons room swung inwards, revealing a large, dark space.

Alys walked in, surveying the contents; rows upon rows of guns, ammunition, steel. Everything you could think of, with a little extra on the side.

"Not here." Gwen said, entering after the other woman. She moved to a far wall where another keypad seemed to appear. Another string of code was inputted and, this time, it was the wall that swung open.

A green luminescence filtered into the weapons room. Alys glanced to the brunette who then gestured for her to go in. Alys stepped over the threshold, the odd green glow illuminating her pale skin. Scattered across the room were various strange looking objects. Objects of every shape and size imaginable, and some even beyond that. Some resembled firearms, in their shape or size; others were decidedly foreign to her.

"What are they?" she stooped down to look at an item more closely.

"Weapons, methods of communication, medical tools." Gwen listed, "We don't really know, we just collect."

"It's incredible." She moved to a tall case at the end of the room, "It's all so…big."

"Don't touch that." Gwen said sharply, "They're in a case for a reason you know."

"Dangerous?"

"That or they have extremely unpleasant side effects; either short or long term."

Alys nodded, taking a few steps back, "I'll keep my distance then."

"Wise move." An American voice said from the doorway.

She turned around, "That so?"

He ignored her comment, "Fancy a coffee? Ianto's got some. Freshly brewed."

Alys nodded, "Sure. I could use a wake up call."

"Lock up, would you Gwen?" Jack called, moving away with Alys in tow, "What'd she show you, then?"

Alys shrugged, "Hardly anything. She explained, roughly, the layout of the place, showed me all that alien stuff, but other than that, nothing."

"Probably for the best, eh?" he replied.

She shrugged, "I'll take you word for it."

Ianto met them on the lower level, "Coffee." He said, distributing mugs. Alys accepted her with a grateful smile, the heat warming her palms. The two men sipped theirs, glancing at her warily.

"Is it just the three of you, then?" she asked as Gwen joined them.

The colleagues exchanged a glance, a range of emotions flashing briefly across their features. A sore spot, clearly.

"It wasn't always." Jack responded, "But nothing's ever guaranteed in this job. There are…risks."

"So, they're…dead, then?" the uncomfortable silence that followed was answer enough, "What happened to them?"

"Caught in the crossfire." The American stated briskly.

Alys nodded, falling respectfully silent, her hands still gripping the mug.

"Not thirsty?" Jack made a show of drinking from his own mug.

"Oh no, I am." She replied, "Just not for this." She lifted the mug, swirling it's contents, "I must say you've done a very good job. Looks like coffee." She inhaled, "Smells like coffee, I'm willing to bet it tastes like it too. But that's not all, is it?" she placed the mug down carefully, "Did you think I wouldn't notice? What is it, poison?"

Jack smirked, "Retcon. It's an amnesia pill."

"Now that _is_ a surprise."

He folded his arms, "What clued you in?"

"I think the better question is, what didn't?" she said, "You have a base running below Cardiff city. A fully stocked weapons room, with a secret door to an unknown sector. Hell of a security system, I'm guessing, going by those keypads and the giant doors, a shit load of alien tech, not to mention actual aliens. It all just screams secret society." she shrugged, "And what sort of secret society would you be if you didn't follow the most basic rule: 'if I told you, I'd have to kill you.' Well, in this case, retcon you."

"She's good, I'll give her that." Gwen muttered.

"So," Alys folded her arms, "what are you going to do to me?"

"Well, we could kill you." Jack said, his tone bland, "Or lock you up. Alternatively, we could just force the retcon down your throat." She raised her eyebrows, "But something tells me those options wouldn't exactly go over well."

"So you won't kill me, or hold me. You won't make me forget." She smirked, "Sounds like you're running out of options, Captain."

"I wasn't finished." He said.

"Oh, by all means, continue."

"You could come work for us." He responded, "Torchwood's a couple places short. You could step in."

Ianto pulled him aside, "Trigger happy stranger." He reminded the American.

"I know, hush." Jack stared at her expectantly, "What do you think?"

"Can I keep my gun?" she responded automatically.

Jack shook his head, "I'll keep it in the safe for now. We can't have you out killing things left, right and centre. But I'll give you a stun gun for now, safety first after all."

Slightly disheartened at the idea of being separated from her constant, perhaps permanently, she had no intention of trusting Captain Harkness just yet, Alys paused to think.

"I should tell you that, if you refuse, we'd be forced to take your memories from you." He said, "Everything alien would have to go."

"You wouldn't." she said sharply.

"I would." Jack said crisply, "You'd be a risk, we can't have that."

"Those memories are all I've got." She hissed, "_You can't take them from me_."

"What do you mean 'all you've got'?"

"That's my problem, not yours." She countered.

"It's the way it would have to be." Jack told her apologetically, "Take it or leave it."

Alys nodded stiffly, "I can't lose them. I won't."

Jack inclined his head, passing her the stun gun, "I guess this is welcome to Torchwood."

"Yeah." She muttered.

"Drive her home, Ianto." The Welshman nodded, "Be in for six. I'll be at the water tower."

Alys said nothing, instead settling for a cold stare. Ianto gestured towards the door, she nodded in response.

"See you at six."


End file.
